2025 Kia EV9: What to check before buying

The driver's seat rocks, shakes, or wobbles while driving, and the described fix involves replacing the seat frame. A separate concern is the memory seat. At startup it moves to the last saved position and keeps pushing against resistance until it reaches that spot or the driver finds the controls on the left side of the seat base. That creates a risk of being pinned against the steering wheel. Another report describes a newly delivered car whose second- and third-row seat mounting bolts may be missing.

Power steering assist can cut out while driving, causing a sudden loss of steering control. In the reported case, the failure returned on the first drive after a dealer repair attempt. The more frequent complaint is a steady vibration at highway speeds, above 65 mph in one report. Drivers say it feels like a driveline, wheel, tire, or suspension problem, almost like a wobbling tire. The complaints do not identify a cause.

Sudden loss of propulsion is the most serious pattern. An ICCU failure can drop the car into limp mode at speed with multiple warnings, forcing the driver out of moving traffic. Grinding from the rear when slowing to a stop is also reported. It grew louder over a short distance until the vehicle stopped in a traffic lane. A third complaint involves i-pedal. Shifting into reverse switches it off without warning, so the car moves when the brake is released and no longer stops when the accelerator is lifted.

Wipers can stall, glitch, or fall out of sync, especially in snow. The wiper arms sit in a deep crevice below the hood line. Snow that collects there or slides off the roof can stop them mid-sweep or make the two arms tangle. One repair replaced a bent wiper arm, yet the failure came back after the next snowfall, even with the snow position used and the crevice partly covered. A banging passenger wiper that quits partway through its sweep is also reported on a brand-new car. Each case leaves the driver suddenly unable to see clearly.

Lug nuts and wheel studs come loose, strip, or snap, which can let a wheel come off at speed. Reports include stripped studs on two wheels at about 16,000 miles, locking lug nuts that popped out of the hubs on a 4-month-old car, and snapped lug nuts with the rest extremely loose after the car swerved across freeway lanes with no warning. A rattle at low speed was the early sign in one case. Some owners suspect wheels were installed with the wrong tools or torque, but the complaints do not confirm a cause.

Screens go dark without warning. The infotainment display, including the backup camera view, glitches and then blanks out completely. In one case a reset, a software reload, and a full screen replacement did not fix it. The instrument cluster can also drop out while driving and show a "No Signal" message. When that happens the driver loses speed, battery range, and warning lights. One owner also reports a dealer visit that did not resolve the problem.